The manor doors closed behind them with a muted thud, sealing the siblings inside the cool, cavernous entry hall of the Li estate.
The atmosphere was different today.
Not the usual distant calm
—not the cold indifference the Second Branch had grown used to—
but something sharper in the air.
Expectation.
Servants bowed quickly when they saw them, but their gazes flickered with something else:
Recognition.
Curiosity.
Confusion.
Word always traveled fast in large families.
In powerful ones?
It traveled faster.
Li Xue clutched her tablet case a little too tightly, her steps light but stiff as she walked beside her brother. Her heartbeat echoed loud in her ears, louder than the hush of the polished marble floor beneath them.
"…Why does it feel so quiet?" she whispered.
Li Feng didn't slow.
"Mn... they're waiting."
He didn't say for what.
But both of them already knew.
At the top of the grand staircase stood Li Guowei of the First Branch and Li Guotao of the Third. The moment the siblings appeared, both men paused their conversation.
Li Guowei's brows lifted.
Li Guotao's eyes narrowed.
Not hostile.
Not warm.
Just… evaluating.
Li Xue instinctively shrank half a step closer to her brother.
Li Feng's gaze swept over them once—calm, unreadable—and kept walking.
"Feng," Li Guowei called out with an almost courteous tone, "you two returned quite quickly. The Expo ended?"
"Almost," Li Feng replied with a mild nod. "We received a summons."
Li Guowei exchanged a quick glance with Guotao.
So they hadn't been informed of the specifics.
Meaning the Patriarch had acted alone.
Interesting.
"How did the project go?" Li Guotao asked, voice smooth but pointed.
Li Xue felt her throat tighten.
Li Feng's answer came without a hint of pride or modesty—
"Very well."
The men waited for elaboration.
Li Feng provided none.
Their expressions stiffened for a blink before smoothing over.
"I see," Guowei said, folding his hands behind his back. "The Patriarch is in the main hall."
They stepped aside to let them pass.
Li Xue swallowed and whispered, "Gege… w-was that okay? Should we have—"
"No."
Li Feng didn't even slow his pace.
"They wanted us to brag. We don't respond to that."
She blinked, realizing he was right.
The more they said,
the more leverage the other branches would gain.
This calm refusal to give details—
That was power.
---
They reached the long corridor leading to the Main Ancestral Hall.
The pressure shifted again.
Sharper now.
Colder.
Like walking toward the eye of a storm.
At the end sat the heavy double doors of the hall—dark wood, golden accents, and two carved lions standing guard at each side.
A servant waiting there bowed deeply.
"Young Master. Young Miss. The Patriarch awaits your arrival."
Li Xue's small inhale trembled in her throat.
Li Feng adjusted the strap of their project case in his hand and said quietly:
"Stay beside me."
She nodded.
The servant pushed the doors open.
A deep, solemn stillness washed out from inside—the kind of silence that came only from age, authority, and the weight of decisions that could change a family's future.
Li Feng stepped forward.
Li Xue followed one half-step behind.
Together—
They crossed the threshold.
And the doors began to close behind them…
with a heavy, echoing thud.
The Patriarch was waiting.
And so was the judgment of the Li family.
---
The main hall of the Li estate was vast, polished, and cold—
yet the silence inside it was colder.
Li Feng entered beside Li Xue, their footsteps echoing lightly across marble.
At the far end of the room, the Patriarch sat with the weight of an empire behind him—
Li Zhonghai, the old man whose shadow stretched across Longhai City.
He said nothing at first.
He didn't need to.
Li Xue bowed politely.
Li Feng… simply inclined his head. Not lower. Not higher. Just enough to be respectful—
and absolutely unbending.
Li Zhonghai's gaze flicked to him immediately.
Not to Li Xue.
Not to the gloves in the box she held.
To him.
"You two caused quite the stir today," the Patriarch said.
Li Xue shifted slightly, but Li Feng's expression didn't move.
He answered with a simple:
"Mn."
The old man's brows lifted a fraction at the audacity of such a small response—
not rude,
not insolent,
just… unimpressed.
"And this project," Li Zhonghai continued, tapping a finger once on the armrest,
"Silent Hands… is your work?"
Li Xue started to speak—
but Li Feng gently touched her wrist.
"I built what she envisioned," he said, voice level.
No pride.
No humility.
Just fact.
Li Zhonghai narrowed his eyes.
"From what I hear, the judges from three corporations stayed at your station. And Wen Yuning herself sought you out."
A deliberate pause.
"What is the relationship between you and the Wen family?"
"None," Li Feng replied.
No elaboration.
No attempt to soften the implication that the old man's suspicion was pointless.
The Patriarch leaned back.
"So she came to you… simply because your work was impressive?"
Li Feng didn't blink.
"Seems so."
A flicker crossed the Patriarch's eyes—irritation or interest, it was hard to tell.
He shifted topics.
"The recognition accuracy you achieved… ninety-seven percent? How did you manage that with school equipment?"
Li Feng didn't take the bait of explaining everything like a student pleasing a teacher.
He answered with clean minimalism:
"Efficient model.
Clean data.
Better structure."
Li Xue glanced up at him, surprised at how easily he reduced the complexity of their work into nothing but inevitability.
Li Zhonghai waited for more.
Li Feng did not offer more.
The silence stretched—
not oppressive,
but balanced.
Two people measuring one another.
Finally, the Patriarch spoke again.
"Do you understand why I called you back?"
Li Feng met his gaze without hesitation.
"Because Silent Hands makes the Li family look capable again."
The old man's fingers stilled on the armrest.
Li Xue's breath caught.
But Li Feng wasn't finished.
"And because," he added calmly, "you want to see whether you can use it."
Li Zhonghai's eyes hardened—
not offended,
not angry—
but calculating.
"…You're bold," the old man said at last.
Li Feng said nothing.
Another silence.
A long one.
Then the Patriarch finally looked away from Li Feng and toward the gloves in the case.
"Show it to me," he said.
Li Feng didn't perform a demonstration like he expected.
He opened the case, handed the gloves to Li Xue, and let her demonstrate—
exactly as at the Expo.
When Li Xue signed Nice to meet you,
and the system translated it flawlessly in real time,
Li Zhonghai's eyes finally shifted—
subtle, but unmistakable.
Interest.
Real interest.
He looked at Li Feng again.
"You created this pipeline on your own?"
"Yes."
"And you're not even eighteen yet."
"I'm not."
Li Zhonghai studied him for a long, still moment.
"…Very well," the Patriarch murmured. "I've seen enough."
Li Xue swallowed nervously.
Li Feng simply straightened his posture, waiting.
The old man finally leaned back.
"I will decide how the family proceeds," he said.
"For now… you may go."
Li Feng didn't bow.
He inclined his head the exact same degree as before.
"Mn."
Not obedient.
Not submissive.
Neutral.
Controlled.
Equal.
He turned to leave, guiding Li Xue gently by the wrist.
Just as they reached the door, the Patriarch's voice echoed behind them.
"Li Feng."
Li Feng paused.
"From today onward…"
A quiet breath.
A weighty declaration.
"…the Li family will be watching you very closely."
Li Feng didn't turn around.
His answer was soft, almost careless—
"Then watch."
And he walked out.
Not bowed.
Not shaken.
Not bent.
The Patriarch of the Li family had tried to size him up.
Instead…
He had seen the shape of someone who couldn't be controlled.
---
The heavy doors closed behind them with a soft, cushioned thud.
Li Xue released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding since the moment they stepped into the hall. Her shoulders sagged a little as the tension finally bled out from her posture.
"Ge… gege…" she whispered, almost in disbelief. "Did you really have to talk to Grandfather like that?"
Li Feng glanced at her as they walked through the quiet corridor.
His tone stayed light, almost indifferent.
"I did."
"That was—"
Her voice dropped to a hushed, horrified whisper.
"—Grandfather."
"And?"
Li Xue blinked.
Li Feng slowed a step so she could walk beside him properly.
"He tested us," he said calmly. "I simply refused to play along."
"But he's Grandfather…"
"Yes. And we're not his servants."
Li Xue stared at him for a moment—
eyes widening as something clicked inside her.
He wasn't being rebellious.
He wasn't being provocative.
He wasn't even defending himself.
He was setting terms.
The terms of how he would be treated.
Li Feng continued down the hallway as if discussing the weather.
"He respects strength. Obedience bores him. Fear annoys him. The only thing that interests him—"
His gaze drifted forward.
"—is someone worth watching."
Li Xue swallowed.
"…So you spoke like that on purpose?"
"Mn."
She gaped at him.
Then, after a moment, she whispered:
"I think… he was actually impressed."
Li Feng didn't confirm.
Didn't deny.
He simply placed a hand on her head, smoothing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You did well today," he said softly.
Her cheeks immediately flushed.
"I-I didn't even say much in there!"
"You didn't need to. He saw what mattered."
A small pause.
"You showed him Silent Hands works. That's more important than talking."
Li Xue ducked her head shyly.
They reached the end of the corridor, where the windows overlooked the front courtyard. The late afternoon light fell over the gravel paths and manicured hedges outside.
"Gege… what do you think Grandfather will do?" she asked quietly.
Li Feng's gaze sharpened faintly.
"He'll gather the first branch and the others. And they'll argue."
"…About Silent Hands?"
"About us."
Li Xue stiffened immediately.
"But… we just made something for the Expo. Nothing else."
Li Feng's voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
"In a family like ours, doing something worthwhile is never 'just' anything."
Li Xue swallowed.
He nodded toward the stairs.
"Come. Dad's waiting. He'll worry if we take too long."
She followed, staying close.
But before they reached the steps leading down—
The faint echo of footsteps drifted from deeper inside the manor.
Heavy.
Measured.
More than one pair.
Li Feng didn't turn.
"They've already started moving," he murmured.
Li Xue gripped her tablet tight.
"What should we do?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing…?"
Li Feng's expression was placid, eyes cold and clear.
"Let them talk. Let them speculate. Let them try to understand what happened today."
A faint, almost invisible smile touched his lips.
"They'll realize soon enough—
Today was the first time they couldn't predict us."
Li Xue stared at him.
Not afraid.
Awed.
They descended the stairs together.
And behind them, in the echoing depths of the Li estate—
voices began to rise.
Arguments.
Accusations.
Questions.
A storm forming behind closed doors.
Li Feng didn't look back once.
---
Hello, Author here,
Thanks for reading — Leave a comment to tell me what you think about this chapter, and drop a Power Stone if you're enjoying Li Feng's story so far! Let's grow this story together.